We're planning next years events & want DC Students input. During 2006, we will probably have 8 Saturday afternoon Seminars at the school. These will be 2.5 to 3 hour focused trainings. These short intensive seminars work to highlight one aspect of our art.

For example, we have taken the time to just work on Push. After 2.5 hours of practicing Push, everyone has done more pushes than they normally do in a month of form practice, so this movement sees a big improvement, &, hopefully, an improved understanding of this movement, leads to an improved understanding of others.

After speaking with students and classmates, i've come up with the following as a fairly comprehensive list of topics people are interested in for 2006 seminars. We will use this forum to narrow it down to about 8 topics. If there is anything, taiji related, that you don't see on this list but that you'd like to have presented in a seminar, please make a post with your idea. We will use the most popular topics, so make your voice heard. This is one of the few times at the school that we function as a psudo-democracy, so take advantage of it.

The list:

1 Stepping: for using taiji in more dynamic situations

2 Push: introduction to taiji fajin

3 Deflections: roll-back and ward-off

4 Neigong: tuning up and expanding our practice

5 Self-defense for women: defending against assault from a larger attacker

6 Push-hands for rank beginners

7 Living the art: approaching life with lessons learned from taiji

8 Pressure point theory

9 Kicking

10 Discussion and exploration of various lines in the classics

11 Basic sanshou drills: introduction to the martial side of taiji

12 Linking form-sword-tuishou-sanshou: the complete system

13 Everyday items for self-defense

14 taiji street smarts and self-defense applications 101

2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, and 14 would all be suitable for the complete novice in taji. Please feel free to invite friends and co-workers that you think might be interested in learning about taiji to these seminars.

1, 8, 9, and 11 would be suitable for anyone who has made it at least through the first third of the public form.

4 and 12 would be for students that have taken neigong and sword respectively.

Thanks everyone for you input... In response, we will begin this year's series of Saturday afternoon trainings with a set of three Basic Sanshou Seminars, the first to be held on Februrary 25 from 2 to 4. This training will focus on stepping & proper methods of striking with the palm, knife palm (edge of the hand) & the fist. The second training in this series will focus on kicks & the third will focus on proper targets for these strikes.

Those women interested in the Women's Self Defense Group should plan on attending all three of these seminars.